LSU is No. 1 (as it should be) and some other fun story lines for the CFP
At the end of the day, LSU’s total 37-10 domination of No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship game was the final springboard that launched the Tigers (13-0) to the No. 1 spot when the final College Football Playoff rankings were released on Sunday.
LSU, which was No. 2 behind Ohio State going into championship weekend, will play No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1), the Big 12 champion, in a national semifinal on Dec. 28 in Atlanta.
CFP SEMIFINALS, DEC. 28 on ESPN
No. 1 LSU (13-0) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1), Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Atlanta, 4 p.m.
No 2 Ohio State (13-0) vs. No. 3 Clemson (13-0), Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Arizona, 8 p.m.
Ohio State (13-0), which was No. 1 going into the weekend, had to rally from 14 points down to beat No. 8 Wisconsin 34-21 for the Big Ten championship.
Ohio State will play surging Clemson (13-0), the ACC champion, in Glendale, Ariz., also on Dec. 28. Clemson just demolished No. 23 Virginia 63-17 in the ACC championship game.
The two winners will meet for the CFP national championship on Jan. 13 in New Orleans.
I promise you, LSU vs. Oklahoma in Atlanta is going to fun. Consider these early story lines:
**--Moving up from No. 2 to No. 1 in the final rankings was a huge boost for LSU’s national championship hopes. First of all, the Tigers get to open the playoffs against Oklahoma in the same building (Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium) where they won the SEC championship by beating Georgia (37-10) on Saturday.
“You can say that our guys are very comfortable in Atlanta,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said on Sunday. “We look forward to going back."
**--If LSU beats Oklahoma and advances, the Tigers will play for the national championship in New Orleans, just 80 miles from their campus in Baton Rouge.
*--In fact, LSU’s last two national championships (2003, 2007) were both won at the Superdome in New Orleans. LSU also played for the national championship in New Orleans in 2011 but lost to Alabama 21-0.
**--LSU will see a familiar face at quarterback for Oklahoma. The starting QB for the Sooners is Jalen Hurts, who played his first three years at Alabama before transferring to Oklahoma to play his final season. Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the site of one of Hurts’ biggest moments as he came off the bench to rally Alabama to a 35-28 win over Georgia in the 2018 SEC championship game. In all Hurts played in one SEC championship game (2018). one national championship game (2017) and one regular season game (vs. Florida State in 2017) in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He also played in an SEC championship game in Atlanta at the old Georgia Dome in 2016). So Jalen knows Atlanta.
“ I don’t know how much it (having played in Mercedes-Benz) helps Jalen but it sure can’t hurt,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley.
**--And here’s a bit of irony: If Oklahoma beats LSU and advances to New Orleans, Hurt will take snaps in his fourth straight national championship game for two different schools. That has never been done.
**--Oklahoma and LSU have a short history.
After the 2003 season the Tigers played Oklahoma for the BCS national championship in New Orleans. LSU, led by coach Nick Saban, beat Oklahoma 21-14 to win the crystal football.
After the 1949 season Oklahoma beat Clemson 35-0, also in New Orleans. That Oklahoma team, coached by Bud Wilkinson, finished 11-0.
The other semifinal is at State Farm Stadium in Glendale and will feature two teams playing with monster-size chips on their shoulders. Check out these storylines:
**--Ohio State made a strong case that it should be No. 1—and thus avoiding Clemson in the semifinals--with five Top 25 wins in which the Buckeyes dominated. When speaking to reporters on Sunday Coach Ryan Day tried to downplay that disappointment as a motivational tool.
**--Clemson’s Dabo Swinney has been playing the “No respect” card for several weeks now.
He pointed out Sunday that Clemson is the first team since 1966 to start the season No. 1, go undefeated, and then finish No. 3.
**--And here’s another irony in the Clemson-Ohio State game. Both teams are led by quarterbacks who hail from the state of Georgia.
Ohio State’s Justin Fields, a sophomore from Kennesaw, Ga. (just North of Atlanta), began his career at the University of Georgia but transferred after the 2018 season. He quickly became the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback and on Saturday night was named the MVP of the Big Ten championship game.
**--Clemson’s quarterback is sophomore Trevor Lawrence from Cartersville, a short 45-minute drive from Atlanta. Lawrence took over from Kelly Bryant four games into the 2018 season and eventually led the Tigers to the CFP national championship with a 44-16 win over Clemson.
Ohio State and Clemson have met three times with the Tigers winning them all. In 2016 they met in the CFP semifinals with Clemson winning 31-0. Clemson went on to beat Alabama for the national title.
Another famous Clemson-Ohio State game was the 1978 Gator Bowl, when Buckeye coach Woody Hayes slugged Clemson player Charlie Bauman. Hayes was fired the next day.